Wizard of Oz Dress Can't Be Auctioned by University Yet, Court Rules
Wizard of Oz dress may not be in Kansas anymore, but its final home is still to be determined.The Catholic University of America had planned to auction off the gingham dress Tuesday, but a federal judge Monday blocked the move, The Washington Post reports.
U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe ruled that a lawsuit over ownership of the dress must be resolved first.The dress is one of six that have been authenticated as worn by Garland in the LGBTQ-beloved 1939 film, although only one other is known to still exist.
She wore it in the scene where her Oz character, Dorothy, is a prisoner of the Wicked Witch of the West.The Rev. Gilbert V. Hartke, a priest who headed Catholic University’s drama department, received the costume in 1973 as a gift from acclaimed actress Mercedes McCambridge, then an artist in residence at the university.
McCambridge had been a friend of Garland, who died in 1969. McCambridge died in 2004.Hartke died in 1986, and the dress was forgotten for years; he had not taken it with him when he retired.
